1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a copying apparatus and more particularly, to a copying apparatus equipped with a sorter which is arranged to sort a plurality of copy paper sheets discharged from a main body of the copying apparatus into a plurality of bins successively shifted to a paper discharge position by a shifting means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a sorter of the above described type is capable of functioning in a mode for classifying copy paper sheets discharged from the copying apparatus main body, one sheet at a time, i.e. in the so-called sort mode, and also in another mode for classifying such copy paper sheets by the preliminarily set number of sheets to be copied, i.e. in the so-called group mode.
In the prior art it has been generally so arranged that, upon detection that the copy paper sheets are not discharged from a paper discharge port of the copying apparatus main body, even after lapse of a predetermined period of time, in the sort mode as described above, the direction for shifting the bins is changed over on the assumption that the copy paper sheets are classified and sorted into the respective bins, one sheet in each bin, by the number of sheets to be copied preliminarily set. In the known arrangements as described above, even when paper jamming has taken place within the copying apparatus main body, or when the copy paper sheets in a copy paper feeding cassette have been used up, a detection is made that the copy paper sheets are not discharged from the copy paper discharge port of the copying apparatus main body after lapse of the predetermined period of time, and thus, the shifting direction of the bins is altered. Accordingly, in the prior art arrangements as described above, the shifting direction of the bins is undesirably changed over in spite of the fact that the preliminarily set number of sheets to be copied has not been sorted into the respective bins.
Similarly, in the group mode also, shifting to a subsequent bin is undesirably effected despite the fact that the preliminarily set number of sheets to be copied has not been classified and accommodated into one bin.
The prior art arrangements have the further following disadvantages.
(1) In the sort mode and group mode, when the bins are to be moved, other than for sorting of the copy paper sheets discharged from the copying apparatus main body, for example when the disposition of the bins is to be changed over, the copying apparatus is still allowed to effect copying. Therefore, if the copying apparatus is operated to perform a copying operation by mistake, copy paper sheets discharged from the copying apparatus main body are held or caught by the bins during shifting thereof, thus giving rise to paper jamming.
(2) In the sort mode and group mode, shifting of the bins is not effected even if an interruption copying operation is carried out. Accordingly, there occurs the disadvantage that copy paper sheets corresponding to an original document initially being copied, and copy paper sheets corresponding to another original document of the interruption copying operation, are not separated from each other and are not sorted into the bins in a properly classified manner, thus requiring an operator to sort them after completion of the copying operation, with a consequent troublesome procedure involved.
It is an essential object of the present invention to provide a novel copying apparatus which is capable of solving the technical problems described above such as copy paper jamming in the sorter, with a simultaneous improvement of operability and with successful of copy paper sheets.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved electrostatic copying apparatus in which the copied paper sheets are sorted into a predetermined bin when interruption copying is performed, whereby an operator thus is capable of performing a copying operation easily.